People always say "kaiju movies don't need good human characters." And while I believe that to an extent, a truly great lead performance and good writing can really help elevate the film overall.
honorable mentions to Akane, Mr Shindo, Miki, Asuka (Even though her soul was inside Biollante), Joe brody, and Ishiro Serizawa (From the Monsterverse).
Man, I thought Major Yasuaki Shindo from Godzilla vs King Ghidora (1991) was for sure gonna make it on the list. The man and his soldiers were saved by a young, dino-Godzilla from invading U.S. Troops. Young Godzilla nearly died defending the WWII Japanese Soldiers from an American ambush and Shindo let the soon-to-be Godzilla to rest and give the poor creature a honorable salute. When Godzilla began terrorizing Japan again, he was already a highly regarded businessman. His old self didn’t run away like every Japanese citizen. Instead, Shindo remembered Godzilla as the same creature that saved him and his fleet in WWII and gave the kaiju a salute before he died. Though he didn’t have enough screen time in the film, his death was some of the most effective death in the whole series. He respected Godzilla as a miracle from a losing battle and in now different circumstances, he gave his own life as favor. It still gave me such an impression after all these years as a long time fan.
Don Frye was at the last G-Fest I attended, where I discovered the way he talks in the movie is his natural speaking voice and general speech pattern. What a treat to learn. Also got to love how this list of best human characters begins with an alien character.
I always get a kick out of Akira Takarada's character Yoshimura from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. He seems to have so much fun playing the cunning thief and I appreciate the action/adventure tone the movie has where he's sneaking around the villain's secret base with his custom skeleton key.
From the English-language dub of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, aka, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, by Continental Distributing, shown on TV during the 1970’s: Yoshimura: “We’re going to fight [the Red Bamboo] using our brains.” Nita: “That sounds like a crackpot idea to me!”
My personal favorite human character is Akane Yashiro. I love the duality between her and Kiryu she also holds respect for the original godzilla's spirit and is one of the few people that understand him.
When people think of Godzilla, they don't usually think of the main characters. And for good reason--in most cases, the human characters exist only to move the plot along and deliver half-baked performances that make you forget them as soon as they're off screen. But some characters, like the ones that will be listed in this top 10, make the human scenes just about worth watching. Hopefully Akane from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla gets #1, she's earned it! Edit: I'm not mad, the list was well thought-out, and of course everyone is going to have different opinions
I have to disagree with you in regards to the comment that they are usually half baked performances. The heisei series definitely suffered from this and to a lesser extent, the millennium series, but the showa films consistently had great performances (mostly). Back when Toho actually operated as a proper studio, their actors were usually seasoned veterans, and the screenplays done primarily by Shinichi Sekizawa always incorporated likable human characters that were by no means ever bad. Yeah rarely nuanced, but they rarely ever had to be given the storyline. Even Fukuda’s later showa films made sure to contain characters that operated on a very comedic, almost scooby foo type level. Vs Gigan and sea monster come to mind as examples. Point being, the characters have typically served their roles perfectly well. Godzilla films have usually always been more plot and theme based rather than character based, and that formula usually serves them well.
I knew from the start who #1 would be, and it's legit. I agree that most of the humans are kinda empty suits, and that's fine! So when any of them do stand out, they really stand out.
Katsura from Terror of Mechagodzilla better be on this list. Her character alone gave the "Monsters being mind controlled" a hole new dimension by tying it to a person who struggles with their identity as a human or machine.
This is a great list. Kind of sad that Akane Yashiro isn't on it. When it comes to Godzilla movies with great human stories I always felt Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla did a great job at that. That and the character of Akane Yashiro is very well done.
"Listen kid, there's two things you don't know about the Earth. One is me, and the other's...Godzilla!" Still one of my favorite lines from...well any movie if I'm being honest.
My favorite human characters are miki saegusa from the heisei era, akane from godzilla against mechagodzilla, and ozaki and captain gordon from godzilla final wars, and the xillian villain from godzilla final wars
Serizawa's an excellent choice for #1. Personally, I'd give Steve Martin from the American cut an honorable mention. Yeah, he's a rather broad character and is only really there to give exposition to English-speaking audiences, but Raymond Burr plays him with excellent gravitas. He really sells the idea that he's witnessing something truly horrific and unstoppable.
Couldn't agree more on Serizawa. After all, with some reading between the lines it becomes apparent that he didn't develop the oxygen destroyer by accident, but rather to use it as a tool of vengeance against the Americans for having caused the death of his friends and the loss of his eye. It's not until he sees what it is capable of he realizes what a terrible thing he is trying to do. In a way, he is a parallel to Godzilla, a monster created by the horrible circumstances of war. 1954 is such a masterpiece and it doesn't get nearly enough recognition in the main stream film community.
Good list, my only issue is that he didn't include a single female character on this list when they're were a couple of candidates such as Miki Saegusa and Akane Yashiro.
Pretty sure we all know who #1 is, but I'm glad you've made a video on this underrated aspect of kaiju films that tends to get buried in the spectacle. I always appreciate you treating these films as films instead of just cinematic junk food
Here’s my top 10 list of greatest Godzilla characters: 10. Rando Yaguchi (yaguchi was a really good protagonist for a movie like Shin Godzilla, his acting was good as well) 9. Shinichi Ozaki (I like his difference from the other mutants and he’s a pretty badass character) 8. Ishiro Serizawa (he was a good character in the monsterverse and I like how he understands Godzilla and his purpose) 7. Vivienne Graham (she was a great character, she supported Godzilla just like her superior Serizawa) 6. Mark Russell (his character development was good as he starts from wanting Godzilla and the titans dead (due to being angry and sad that his son Andrew was killed during the 2014 film) but then begins to understand that the world needs Godzilla) 5. Miki Saegusa (she was a good character and i like how she knew that Godzilla had emotions like any creature like humanity and she wants the government to understand that) 4. Yasuaki Shindo (I like his character and he is a tragic character because to this day, he regretted leaving Godzilla dying on Lagos island despite knowing there was nothing he could do to help and wanted Godzilla to kill him to release him from this pain) 3. Haruo Sakaki (yes. The main character of the anime trilogy is number 3 on my list. You wanna know why? Because he’s actually a really good character and I like his character growth like he went from aggressive and reckless, to calmer but troubled (because he felt like he lead to many people to their deaths at the hands of Fillius and Godzilla), to depressed and lost. I like how he wanted to defeat Godzilla for not only the death of his parents but for all of humanity but began to understand that if Godzilla is dead, then monsters like King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla would destroy or assimilate the earth) 2. Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown’s acting was amazing and I thought we should see her character grow more) 1. Daisuke Serizawa (his character was tragic and I like how he kills himself so that the oxygen destroyer wouldn’t be recreated and fall into the wrong hands)
Thank you for establishing the fact that human characters are crucially needed for these movies. Many modern day Monsterverse fans seem to think differently.
This is one of your best videos. Too often detractors of the kaiju film genre complain about the lack of strong characters, but you give ample evidence why this isn't so. Akira Takarada's Yashi from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep tops my personal list. He's badass with a compelling moral dilemma and genuine character arc.
If only Cranston had been in the entire film, I’d easily put him in the top 3. the first 45 minutes or so of G14 are absolutely magnetic due to his charisma. Once he dies (ironically enough that Godzilla starts getting slivers of screen time afterwards) I usually lose motivation to watch it all the way through.
Great list! Thanks for throwing some love for Captain Gordon! I was nervous he’d get left out and I got some looks when I cheered out loud seeing him land in the Top 4! 🤘🏻
Awesome list man! And a well needed video for the community since the human characters are often overlooked. Some of the human characters I like are Yoshimura from Ebirah horror of the deep, Yuri from gmk and Akane from the Kiryu saga. Keep up the great work!
I can name a few characters in the Godzilla Franchise that are compelling and interesting imo. The top five Human characters are in no particular order: 1. Serizawa (1954) 2. Joe Brody (G14) 3. Lt. Akane Yashiro (GxMG) 4. Mitsuo Katagiri (G2K) 5. Mark Russell (KotM)
Honestly, she's kind of obnoxious in her sentiment of "Godzilla feels things, too! Why do we need to KILL him?", as if she doesn't get that he's a very dangerous, rampaging giant monster.
Dr. Serizawa also has the distinction of being the only playable human character in a Godzilla game. As he was included in Godzilla Generations... As a giant with a laser cannon hidden beneath his eyepatch....
HA! I just finished working on an extensive Godzilla video that I'm going to post next March and in it I mentioned that nobody makes lists about the Godzilla human characters since they focus only on the films and monsters and now I see you're making one! XD
I don't know where I read it, but about Serizawa and his status as an undisputed badass, all be it a tragic one, it said, "You can count on one hand the number of things that have managed to kill Godzilla. You can count on one _finger_ the number of people who managed to kill Godzilla." Now, this was before the anime trilogy; but I think that the point still stands.
Son of a Vitch, another great video! For some reason, Koji Kobayashi from Godzilla Raids Again actually always stuck out to me in that movie. He may not have been very nuanced, but he just seemed like a cool, optimist-spirited guy, which made his willing sacrifice to jumpstart Godzilla's entrapment at the end, ensuring his friends'/family's chance at safety, quite memorable to me.
My top 8 human characters in Godzilla movies Imo: 8. Dr. Mafune (Terror of mechagodzilla) 7. Goro Maki (Son of Godzilla) 6. Shiochi Tsukioka (Godzilla Raids Again) 5. Glen (Invasion of astro monster) 4. Dr.Shiragami (Godzilla vs Biollante) 3. Captain Douglas Gordon (Godzilla final wars) 2. Rando yaguchi (Shin Godzilla) 1. Dr. Serizawa (Gojira)
I think that two characters who should have been on this list are the 'President of Happy Industries' from 'Mothra vs Godzilla' & the 'Controller of Planet X' from (I'll go with the title) 'Godzilla vs Monster Zero'. These are my two favorite human (or Alien) villains in the Godzilla series.
Hot take: Joe Brody is actually just average, he's just elevated by his actor. Akane SHOULD be here, though. She stands out as a protagonist in a monster movie, and that's hard.
I was very surprised but very happy that you put Glen in the list. Nick Adams was awesome! Was sad to see Miki didn't make the list, especially for her performance in GvMechaII.
Great stuff man. The average viewer always forgets the great human characters, to bad we haven't had any great stand out characters in the new american series they all seem so flat compared to these top ten you got here.
Thank you for making this list. I just thinking about this topic this weekend when the "GvK" trailer came out. Human characters are important. They should be like a good sub-plot: emotionally powerful; thematically resonant; and capable of adding wrinkles into the main monster plot.
I'll admit that I begrudgingly agree with your top two spots, but that's only because Glenn was my favorite character growing up. The kid in me thinks he should be number one.
The choices were awesome a couple of characters are Miki saegusa and there’s another military per person from the Return of Godzilla up to Godzilla vs destroyah and the more recent Godzilla vs mechagodzilla that I really like
YES! Rando is so underrated by this community, he is one of the best Godzilla characters period. Better than some of the kaiju in this franchise even. Many people say Shin Godzilla lacks a focused character, and to those people, I'm sorry, but they are wrong. Rando is such a compelling protagonist and he is nearly always at the center of my focus throughout the film.
3:04 The English-dub voice for the Alien commander sounds just like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. They both speak in the same silky, sinister manner. “Very good, Smithers. I owe you a coke!”
I think the Russell family deserves a place on this list: Mark's and Emma's estrangement was the catalyst that started things, they were essentially opposite sides of the same coin and their daughter Madison was the moral heart that brought them get together.
I wrote a paper discussing how the original Godzilla fits in to the traditional of Gothic storytelling, and Serizawa was a big point to that discussion, largely in that he's a big subversion of Gothic stereotypes. You see mad scientists all the time in Gothic horror and science fiction, but in Godzilla, the deformed scientist who creates a weapon of mass destruction is a deep well of empathy who is horrified by what he's done. In addition, another staple of Gothic stories is predatory men attempting to either steal the leading lady away from our hero, or otherwise endanger her. But Serizawa, while (clearly, in my opinion) deeply in love with Emiko, completely respects her autonomy and makes his final wish that she has a happy life with the man she chose over him.
I'm late to the party, but in a way, Serizawa is Dr. Frankenstein, and I mean the original novel version of him, he created a thing he regretted, it only leads him to tragedy and torment, and death is the only way for him to end it.
Honorable mentions: Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell: Godzilla King Of The Monsters. Kazuki Kitamura as The Controller: Godzilla Final Wars. Jean Reno as Philippe Roaché: Godzilla 1998. Megumi Odaka as Miki Saegusa: The Heisei Godzilla Series. And Ren Ohsugi as Seiji Okouchi: Shin Godzilla.
Great video, it's really nice to see someone highlight Takeshi Shimura. Fact of the matter is, that man shows more emotion with one facial express than most characters do with long winded speeches. The man truly was a blessing for the first movie.
I agree almost 100% but I would've included Miki Saegusa somewhere in there. Heisei films are my favorites and just having her recur throughout them was a nice touch. She really complimented the tone of those films as well.
I agree with a lot of your choices, but I would've honestly added Mr. Shindo from Godzilla vs King Ghidorah and Mark Russell from King of the Monsters. They're really well written characters imo, and Shindo's death is probably one of my favorite moments in the franchise.
Surprised to see someone mention mark since he seems to get a lot of hate. I enjoyed that in spite of all he went through he never lost his humanity or the value of human life unlike Emma.
@@planetxaudio1699 Mark easily the best leading man in the MonsterVerse. Not only is he a major improvement over Ford and Conrad, but he's also the first human character in the MonsterVerse to actually have a character arc. That is unless you count Marlow in Skull Island, but the bulk of his arc took place off-screen.
Up From The Depths 76.5K subscribers There's a few more Godzilla movie characters you forgot to put as honorable mentions such as LIST (of honorable mentions): 1. Admiral Taizo Tachibana (from the 2001 film "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack") 2. Ford Brody (from the 2014 American Kaiju film "Godzilla") 3. Ishiro Serizawa (from the 2014 American Kaiju film "Godzilla")
Shinoda from Godzilla 2000 is also a Great Character as well,"Bastard you really think you can kill Godzilla?"Lol love that line.Miki the Physic Girl from the Hesie Series was cool too she always looked out for the Big G and could control his thoughts and talk to him,love her.
I would add in Emi from Godzilla Versus King Ghidorah. She stands up for her ancestral home when the bad guys go fanatic and try to destroy it, she's both clever and fairly tough, smart, and cute as heck in both looks and personality. You also have Miki from the heisei series. Outside of those two officials she's the only one who has been in every Heisei film except 1985 and connects those series, plus she's usually right there in the action in some form. She's rather important to that set of movies, and one of the few Japanese characters to show up in one of the US adaptations, in one of IDW's Godzilla Legends issues.
Oh some surprises. #10 and #9 were those. I dunno about Dr. Yamane being on the list. Happy to see Gondo and Captain Gordon making it. Rando, Glenn and Serisawa I agree with. Hard to argue against Tako. Characters I wanted: Admiral Tachibana from GMK and Yuri from the same movie. Both are pretty bad ass and very well done. Katsura from Terror of Mechagodzilla because I still feel a bit sad when I think of her. It helps we don't see her death in the U.S. cut so I didn't know she died for like 22 years. I like Miki but the best Miki was when she was a creepy teenager in Biollante. Really Biollante had one of the best casts.
I'd love to see a cut of Astro Monster that uses Glenn's English dialogue while using Japanese for the rest, even though it wouldn't really make sense.
This may be about the Human characters, but we all know the greatest Godzilla character (besides him) is *Jet Jaguar!* Dude even has his own kickass theme song and can alter his programming to increase his size.😦😧😯
Human characters will always have a place in Godzilla movies, the important thing tho is to never have them distract from main monsters when its their time to shine. I myself was wondering what godzilla movies have the best human stories.
Shouts out to Raymond Burr as Steve Martin. I really enjoy watching his character and have much respect for him stopping 1985 from being a terrible comedy. I also enjoy Philippe Roache from Godzilla 1998
Very good list. But Megumi Odaka/ Miki Segusa definitely belongs somewhere on this list. As well as Joe Brody/Bryan Cranston. Who probably provided the best acting in the Series? Despite he was only in the movie for 36 minutes.
I'm surprised there were no women in this list and think Miki Saegusa, who had a partial character development arc as she appeared throughout the Heisei movies, could have replaced a few people here
Commenting on this after reading and listening to reviews for Godzilla vs Kong. Human characters do matter. The best monster movies are ALWAYS the ones that have something to say and do something more with what they've been given.
Solid. I'd have found a place for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus's Kiriko Tsujimori. She's one of the only characters that stuck with me at all in my childhood viewings of the movies - she wasn't just the first person to have physical contact with Big G, she CLIMBED up on him!
My problem is I do not remember any of the human characters names outside of a few, lol. 1. Serizawa from 1954 2. Dr Yamane from 1954 3. Steve Martin 1956 and 1985 4. Scientist from terror of mg 5. PM from 1984 6. Main Guy that gets blasted by G in 1991, Shinjo or whatever his name was. 7. Psychic girl from the heisei movies, only for being in all of them. 8. Main girl from GXMG 9. Bryan Cranston in G14 10. Main guy from Shin
Here are my top 10 human characters in all Godzilla movies: 10. Mark Russell (Monsterverse) 9. Rando Yaguchi (Shin Godzilla) 8. Yashuaki Shindo (Godzilla vs King Ghidora) 7. Dr. Shiragami (Godzilla vs Biollante) 6. Xillian leader & Captain Gordon (Godzilla: Final Wars) 5. Azusa Gojo (Heisei Era) 4. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Monsterverse) 3. Miki Seagusa (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2) 2. Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Gojira) Honorable mentions: Maddison Russell (Monsterverse), Jia (Godzilla vs Kong), Burnie (Godzilla vs Kong), Mr. Takata (King Kong vs Godzilla), Steve Martin (Godzilla: King of the Monsters 1956 & Godzilla 1985), Mr. Kamayama & Jiro Tarahata (Mothra vs Godzilla), Yuki (GMK) 1. Akane Yashiro (Godzilla against Mechagodzilla).
People always say "kaiju movies don't need good human characters." And while I believe that to an extent, a truly great lead performance and good writing can really help elevate the film overall.
I completely agree
Without the human characters it's less interesting. Especially when Godzilla is the thread of the movie human characters are important.
honorable mentions to Akane, Mr Shindo, Miki, Asuka (Even though her soul was inside Biollante), Joe brody, and Ishiro Serizawa (From the Monsterverse).
Asuka's soul wasn't in Biollante. That was Erika. Asuka was a different character in the same movie.
Miki is my personal favorite
MIKI IS ONE OF THE BEST
Seriously, how did he forget Miki?
Man, I thought Major Yasuaki Shindo from Godzilla vs King Ghidora (1991) was for sure gonna make it on the list. The man and his soldiers were saved by a young, dino-Godzilla from invading U.S. Troops. Young Godzilla nearly died defending the WWII Japanese Soldiers from an American ambush and Shindo let the soon-to-be Godzilla to rest and give the poor creature a honorable salute. When Godzilla began terrorizing Japan again, he was already a highly regarded businessman. His old self didn’t run away like every Japanese citizen. Instead, Shindo remembered Godzilla as the same creature that saved him and his fleet in WWII and gave the kaiju a salute before he died. Though he didn’t have enough screen time in the film, his death was some of the most effective death in the whole series. He respected Godzilla as a miracle from a losing battle and in now different circumstances, he gave his own life as favor. It still gave me such an impression after all these years as a long time fan.
If the Pimps and Cop from Final Wars aren’t here, we riot.
Lol xD
They were such deep and interesting characters they changed my life
@@slothbaby2104 *h e y s h u t t h e h e l l u p y o u r e d r u n k !*
@@eagenthorror *L O L*
@@eagenthorror oh shit! It's a- a big- big birdy! I think we gotta get outta here!
Don Frye was at the last G-Fest I attended, where I discovered the way he talks in the movie is his natural speaking voice and general speech pattern. What a treat to learn.
Also got to love how this list of best human characters begins with an alien character.
The lack Akane Yashiro is a war crime.
Nice to see recognition for the human characters!
I always get a kick out of Akira Takarada's character Yoshimura from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. He seems to have so much fun playing the cunning thief and I appreciate the action/adventure tone the movie has where he's sneaking around the villain's secret base with his custom skeleton key.
From the English-language dub of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, aka, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, by Continental Distributing, shown on TV during the 1970’s:
Yoshimura: “We’re going to fight [the Red Bamboo] using our brains.”
Nita: “That sounds like a crackpot idea to me!”
Thank you for mentioning him; I thought I was the only one to actually like the film, and the antihero that is Yoshimura!
“I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my life BUT, I’ve never stuck my head inside a hornet’s nest!” Yoshimura, Good Times Home Video English dub
@@crazyfrazy74747 "Right now, I'm going to start all over. Yes, I'll go straight!"
@@crazyfrazy74747 And to think, in the Continental version Yoshimura was dubbed by Hal Linden, of "Barney Miller" fame.
My personal favorite human character is Akane Yashiro. I love the duality between her and Kiryu she also holds respect for the original godzilla's spirit and is one of the few people that understand him.
When people think of Godzilla, they don't usually think of the main characters. And for good reason--in most cases, the human characters exist only to move the plot along and deliver half-baked performances that make you forget them as soon as they're off screen. But some characters, like the ones that will be listed in this top 10, make the human scenes just about worth watching.
Hopefully Akane from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla gets #1, she's earned it!
Edit: I'm not mad, the list was well thought-out, and of course everyone is going to have different opinions
I have to disagree with you in regards to the comment that they are usually half baked performances. The heisei series definitely suffered from this and to a lesser extent, the millennium series, but the showa films consistently had great performances (mostly). Back when Toho actually operated as a proper studio, their actors were usually seasoned veterans, and the screenplays done primarily by Shinichi Sekizawa always incorporated likable human characters that were by no means ever bad. Yeah rarely nuanced, but they rarely ever had to be given the storyline. Even Fukuda’s later showa films made sure to contain characters that operated on a very comedic, almost scooby foo type level. Vs Gigan and sea monster come to mind as examples. Point being, the characters have typically served their roles perfectly well. Godzilla films have usually always been more plot and theme based rather than character based, and that formula usually serves them well.
I knew from the start who #1 would be, and it's legit. I agree that most of the humans are kinda empty suits, and that's fine! So when any of them do stand out, they really stand out.
Katsura from Terror of Mechagodzilla better be on this list. Her character alone gave the "Monsters being mind controlled" a hole new dimension by tying it to a person who struggles with their identity as a human or machine.
This is a great list. Kind of sad that Akane Yashiro isn't on it. When it comes to Godzilla movies with great human stories I always felt Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla did a great job at that. That and the character of Akane Yashiro is very well done.
If Mr. Tako isn’t number one we’re gonna need to have a talk...
Putting on the Ritz!
Looks like your gonna talk
Tako is the best
"Dumbbell?"
“NooOooOoOoOo! I’m sick of Godzilla!”
"Listen kid, there's two things you don't know about the Earth. One is me, and the other's...Godzilla!" Still one of my favorite lines from...well any movie if I'm being honest.
My favorite human characters are miki saegusa from the heisei era, akane from godzilla against mechagodzilla, and ozaki and captain gordon from godzilla final wars, and the xillian villain from godzilla final wars
Yes, X is one of my favorite villains period.
@@errolicard3172 yes i l ike how he is over the top
I feel like Brody’s dad(2014) should’ve been an honorable mention
No. That movie is best forgotten
@@rilenaveen5695 Is it heck; it’s easily in the top 3 best films of the whole franchise.
@@Grandmaster_Dragonborn I agree
Serizawa's an excellent choice for #1. Personally, I'd give Steve Martin from the American cut an honorable mention. Yeah, he's a rather broad character and is only really there to give exposition to English-speaking audiences, but Raymond Burr plays him with excellent gravitas. He really sells the idea that he's witnessing something truly horrific and unstoppable.
Couldn't agree more on Serizawa. After all, with some reading between the lines it becomes apparent that he didn't develop the oxygen destroyer by accident, but rather to use it as a tool of vengeance against the Americans for having caused the death of his friends and the loss of his eye.
It's not until he sees what it is capable of he realizes what a terrible thing he is trying to do.
In a way, he is a parallel to Godzilla, a monster created by the horrible circumstances of war.
1954 is such a masterpiece and it doesn't get nearly enough recognition in the main stream film community.
I was literally so fast that I comented 32 hours before the video premiered.
W h a t
How in the fuck
Hacks
Sweet
Twirls his moustache that he barely has, knowing that the secret shall never be revealed.
Just started the video.
If Serizawa isn't number one, we must riot.
Captain Gordon is impossibly cool.
Good list, my only issue is that he didn't include a single female character on this list when they're were a couple of candidates such as Miki Saegusa and Akane Yashiro.
Pretty sure we all know who #1 is, but I'm glad you've made a video on this underrated aspect of kaiju films that tends to get buried in the spectacle. I always appreciate you treating these films as films instead of just cinematic junk food
Here’s my top 10 list of greatest Godzilla characters:
10. Rando Yaguchi (yaguchi was a really good protagonist for a movie like Shin Godzilla, his acting was good as well)
9. Shinichi Ozaki (I like his difference from the other mutants and he’s a pretty badass character)
8. Ishiro Serizawa (he was a good character in the monsterverse and I like how he understands Godzilla and his purpose)
7. Vivienne Graham (she was a great character, she supported Godzilla just like her superior Serizawa)
6. Mark Russell (his character development was good as he starts from wanting Godzilla and the titans dead (due to being angry and sad that his son Andrew was killed during the 2014 film) but then begins to understand that the world needs Godzilla)
5. Miki Saegusa (she was a good character and i like how she knew that Godzilla had emotions like any creature like humanity and she wants the government to understand that)
4. Yasuaki Shindo (I like his character and he is a tragic character because to this day, he regretted leaving Godzilla dying on Lagos island despite knowing there was nothing he could do to help and wanted Godzilla to kill him to release him from this pain)
3. Haruo Sakaki (yes. The main character of the anime trilogy is number 3 on my list. You wanna know why? Because he’s actually a really good character and I like his character growth like he went from aggressive and reckless, to calmer but troubled (because he felt like he lead to many people to their deaths at the hands of Fillius and Godzilla), to depressed and lost. I like how he wanted to defeat Godzilla for not only the death of his parents but for all of humanity but began to understand that if Godzilla is dead, then monsters like King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla would destroy or assimilate the earth)
2. Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown’s acting was amazing and I thought we should see her character grow more)
1. Daisuke Serizawa (his character was tragic and I like how he kills himself so that the oxygen destroyer wouldn’t be recreated and fall into the wrong hands)
Great point well made about Miki Segusa.
Haruo suckaki sucks
Thank you for establishing the fact that human characters are crucially needed for these movies. Many modern day Monsterverse fans seem to think differently.
This is one of your best videos. Too often detractors of the kaiju film genre complain about the lack of strong characters, but you give ample evidence why this isn't so. Akira Takarada's Yashi from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep tops my personal list. He's badass with a compelling moral dilemma and genuine character arc.
Other cool video ideas: best military super weapons, and best music composers.
Oh easily Akira Ifukube would be number one for composers, absolutely no contest.
Super X, SUPER X
Maser canon, Super X... Mechagodzilla?!
@@cbeaumont ye i suppose mechaG is cool i guess
BUT DID YOU SEE THE CRYSTAL ON MY BOY SUPER X-2!!!
Best music themes would be better. The composer list wouldn't have a lot to choose from and the winner would be a no-brainer. lol
Add Shikishima to this list!
"MechaGodzilla beat Godzilla to death" possibly my favorite most quotable line (at least top 2) in the whole Godzilla franchise.
If only Cranston had been in the entire film, I’d easily put him in the top 3. the first 45 minutes or so of G14 are absolutely magnetic due to his charisma. Once he dies (ironically enough that Godzilla starts getting slivers of screen time afterwards) I usually lose motivation to watch it all the way through.
Great list! Thanks for throwing some love for Captain Gordon! I was nervous he’d get left out and I got some looks when I cheered out loud seeing him land in the Top 4! 🤘🏻
Awesome list man! And a well needed video for the community since the human characters are often overlooked. Some of the human characters I like are Yoshimura from Ebirah horror of the deep, Yuri from gmk and Akane from the Kiryu saga. Keep up the great work!
Another awesome character was the ship commander from Godzilla giant monsters all out attack
@@maxmcintyre5068 Heck yeah, general Taizo yuri's dad
Very happy to see Godzilla 2000 on this list. It's my personal favorite G-film.
I can name a few characters in the Godzilla Franchise that are compelling and interesting imo.
The top five Human characters are in no particular order:
1. Serizawa (1954)
2. Joe Brody (G14)
3. Lt. Akane Yashiro (GxMG)
4. Mitsuo Katagiri (G2K)
5. Mark Russell (KotM)
@Allosaurus i was going by movie
I don't know any of these characters
I have an update for you i no longer love kotm
Oh yeah Mr Shindo from Godzilla vs King Ghidroah was good too!
I was wondering if someone was going to make a list like this. Thank you, Up From The Depths.
I was wondering where Miki Saegusa would place. I'm in shock she's not on this list at all. Where is she???
Honestly, she's kind of obnoxious in her sentiment of "Godzilla feels things, too! Why do we need to KILL him?", as if she doesn't get that he's a very dangerous, rampaging giant monster.
@@dizzydoom4230 shut up
@@legendarygodzillatheking3049 I mean is he wrong?
Dr. Serizawa also has the distinction of being the only playable human character in a Godzilla game. As he was included in Godzilla Generations... As a giant with a laser cannon hidden beneath his eyepatch....
Patrician list.
I love this channel. Glad you’re back.
HA! I just finished working on an extensive Godzilla video that I'm going to post next March and in it I mentioned that nobody makes lists about the Godzilla human characters since they focus only on the films and monsters and now I see you're making one! XD
- there’s time to add, “with one exception”
The fact that I can think of multiple characters you "missed" is proof that the characters do matter.
I don't know where I read it, but about Serizawa and his status as an undisputed badass, all be it a tragic one, it said, "You can count on one hand the number of things that have managed to kill Godzilla. You can count on one _finger_ the number of people who managed to kill Godzilla." Now, this was before the anime trilogy; but I think that the point still stands.
Son of a Vitch, another great video!
For some reason, Koji Kobayashi from Godzilla Raids Again actually always stuck out to me in that movie. He may not have been very nuanced, but he just seemed like a cool, optimist-spirited guy, which made his willing sacrifice to jumpstart Godzilla's entrapment at the end, ensuring his friends'/family's chance at safety, quite memorable to me.
So happy you’re back! Looking forward to your content this year!
My top 8 human characters in Godzilla movies Imo:
8. Dr. Mafune (Terror of mechagodzilla)
7. Goro Maki (Son of Godzilla)
6. Shiochi Tsukioka (Godzilla Raids Again)
5. Glen (Invasion of astro monster)
4. Dr.Shiragami (Godzilla vs Biollante)
3. Captain Douglas Gordon (Godzilla final wars)
2. Rando yaguchi (Shin Godzilla)
1. Dr. Serizawa (Gojira)
I think that two characters who should have been on this list are the 'President of Happy Industries' from 'Mothra vs Godzilla' & the 'Controller of Planet X' from (I'll go with the title) 'Godzilla vs Monster Zero'. These are my two favorite human (or Alien) villains in the Godzilla series.
So we're just gonna ignore Akane and Joe Brody?
Hot take: Joe Brody is actually just average, he's just elevated by his actor.
Akane SHOULD be here, though. She stands out as a protagonist in a monster movie, and that's hard.
I was very surprised but very happy that you put Glen in the list. Nick Adams was awesome! Was sad to see Miki didn't make the list, especially for her performance in GvMechaII.
So we just gonna ignore our American correspondent, Steve Martin? Our boi is clearly the only North American who understood Godzilla like Yamane.
Great stuff man. The average viewer always forgets the great human characters, to bad we haven't had any great stand out characters in the new american series they all seem so flat compared to these top ten you got here.
Joe Brody could've been something...
*cough* Dr. Ishiro Serizawa *cough*
Thank you for making this list. I just thinking about this topic this weekend when the "GvK" trailer came out. Human characters are important. They should be like a good sub-plot: emotionally powerful; thematically resonant; and capable of adding wrinkles into the main monster plot.
I'll admit that I begrudgingly agree with your top two spots, but that's only because Glenn was my favorite character growing up. The kid in me thinks he should be number one.
The choices were awesome a couple of characters are Miki saegusa and there’s another military per person from the Return of Godzilla up to Godzilla vs destroyah and the more recent Godzilla vs mechagodzilla that I really like
YES! Rando is so underrated by this community, he is one of the best Godzilla characters period. Better than some of the kaiju in this franchise even. Many people say Shin Godzilla lacks a focused character, and to those people, I'm sorry, but they are wrong. Rando is such a compelling protagonist and he is nearly always at the center of my focus throughout the film.
3:04 The English-dub voice for the Alien commander sounds just like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. They both speak in the same silky, sinister manner. “Very good, Smithers. I owe you a coke!”
I think the Russell family deserves a place on this list: Mark's and Emma's estrangement was the catalyst that started things, they were essentially opposite sides of the same coin and their daughter Madison was the moral heart that brought them get together.
Nah they're bland
I love how each character has music from their movie
Definitely Miki. I was sure she'd be #1 or #2 for any list, but it's fun to see the characters you selected, too.
I wrote a paper discussing how the original Godzilla fits in to the traditional of Gothic storytelling, and Serizawa was a big point to that discussion, largely in that he's a big subversion of Gothic stereotypes. You see mad scientists all the time in Gothic horror and science fiction, but in Godzilla, the deformed scientist who creates a weapon of mass destruction is a deep well of empathy who is horrified by what he's done. In addition, another staple of Gothic stories is predatory men attempting to either steal the leading lady away from our hero, or otherwise endanger her. But Serizawa, while (clearly, in my opinion) deeply in love with Emiko, completely respects her autonomy and makes his final wish that she has a happy life with the man she chose over him.
I'm late to the party, but in a way, Serizawa is Dr. Frankenstein, and I mean the original novel version of him, he created a thing he regretted, it only leads him to tragedy and torment, and death is the only way for him to end it.
All 4 of my favorites were here. Great content buddy.
Honorable mentions:
Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell: Godzilla King Of The Monsters.
Kazuki Kitamura as The Controller: Godzilla Final Wars.
Jean Reno as Philippe Roaché: Godzilla 1998.
Megumi Odaka as Miki Saegusa: The Heisei Godzilla Series.
And Ren Ohsugi as Seiji Okouchi: Shin Godzilla.
Great video, it's really nice to see someone highlight Takeshi Shimura. Fact of the matter is, that man shows more emotion with one facial express than most characters do with long winded speeches. The man truly was a blessing for the first movie.
I'm surprised the other Dr. Serizawa wasn't mentioned at all in the segment on Deiske.
I agree almost 100% but I would've included Miki Saegusa somewhere in there. Heisei films are my favorites and just having her recur throughout them was a nice touch. She really complimented the tone of those films as well.
Hmmm... Kevin Smith could really use a good few watches of this video and reevaluate his choice of words. Fantastic essay as always dude!
Awesome review!
Akane Yashiro from Godzilla X Mechagodzilla and Miki Saegusa from the Heisei series are two of my favorites.
I agree with a lot of your choices, but I would've honestly added Mr. Shindo from Godzilla vs King Ghidorah and Mark Russell from King of the Monsters. They're really well written characters imo, and Shindo's death is probably one of my favorite moments in the franchise.
Surprised to see someone mention mark since he seems to get a lot of hate. I enjoyed that in spite of all he went through he never lost his humanity or the value of human life unlike Emma.
I found Mark, Madison, and Serizawa to be very well-written in KOTM and it's a shame that many others don't feel that way.
@@planetxaudio1699 Mark easily the best leading man in the MonsterVerse. Not only is he a major improvement over Ford and Conrad, but he's also the first human character in the MonsterVerse to actually have a character arc. That is unless you count Marlow in Skull Island, but the bulk of his arc took place off-screen.
@@cinemarxist_ what are your thoughts on godzilla vs kong?
@@cinemarxist_ eh he isn't the best hate boner character in cinematic history, he isn't as great as Kenai from bb
Up From The Depths
76.5K subscribers There's a few more Godzilla movie characters you forgot to put as honorable mentions such as
LIST (of honorable mentions):
1. Admiral Taizo Tachibana (from the 2001 film "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack")
2. Ford Brody (from the 2014 American Kaiju film "Godzilla")
3. Ishiro Serizawa (from the 2014 American Kaiju film "Godzilla")
Shinoda from Godzilla 2000 is also a Great Character as well,"Bastard you really think you can kill Godzilla?"Lol love that line.Miki the Physic Girl from the Hesie Series was cool too she always looked out for the Big G and could control his thoughts and talk to him,love her.
Isn't wanting to kill Godzilla the correct thing to do if was real? Because he would definitely try to exterminate us.
True,but I'm that film he wanted to destroy Japan's energy source,he Mae have trampled some folks but not intentionally.
Im very glad you added Douglas Gordon. Final Wars is my favorite Godzilla film
I would add in Emi from Godzilla Versus King Ghidorah. She stands up for her ancestral home when the bad guys go fanatic and try to destroy it, she's both clever and fairly tough, smart, and cute as heck in both looks and personality. You also have Miki from the heisei series. Outside of those two officials she's the only one who has been in every Heisei film except 1985 and connects those series, plus she's usually right there in the action in some form. She's rather important to that set of movies, and one of the few Japanese characters to show up in one of the US adaptations, in one of IDW's Godzilla Legends issues.
Oh some surprises. #10 and #9 were those.
I dunno about Dr. Yamane being on the list.
Happy to see Gondo and Captain Gordon making it.
Rando, Glenn and Serisawa I agree with. Hard to argue against Tako.
Characters I wanted: Admiral Tachibana from GMK and Yuri from the same movie. Both are pretty bad ass and very well done. Katsura from Terror of Mechagodzilla because I still feel a bit sad when I think of her. It helps we don't see her death in the U.S. cut so I didn't know she died for like 22 years.
I like Miki but the best Miki was when she was a creepy teenager in Biollante. Really Biollante had one of the best casts.
Emiko definitely deserves to be on this list,same with Miki,imo
Everybody wanted more of Bryan Cranston in the 2014 version.
Yep
My favorites are Serizawa, Katsura, Akane and the Planet X leader from Astro-Monster.
I love how Mr. Tako is a not so subtle jab at the producers who wanted to make King Kong vs Godzilla more commercial by making it light hearted
I'd love to see a cut of Astro Monster that uses Glenn's English dialogue while using Japanese for the rest, even though it wouldn't really make sense.
I tried changing my time and date settings.... it didn’t work
Where's JXSDF Lt. Akane Yashiro (the main protagonist in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, which is my 5th favorite Godzilla movie)?
Agreed. You could really feel for Akame.
This may be about the Human characters, but we all know the greatest Godzilla character (besides him) is *Jet Jaguar!* Dude even has his own kickass theme song and can alter his programming to increase his size.😦😧😯
Human characters will always have a place in Godzilla movies, the important thing tho is to never have them distract from main monsters when its their time to shine.
I myself was wondering what godzilla movies have the best human stories.
Shouts out to Raymond Burr as Steve Martin. I really enjoy watching his character and have much respect for him stopping 1985 from being a terrible comedy. I also enjoy Philippe Roache from Godzilla 1998
Happy 69th birthday Godzilla!
Surprised no mention of Bryan Cranston’s character in 2014, he carried that first act on his back like it was nothing.
It's "Ah-beh," not "Abe."
While other spots on the list may change for me, I knew there could only be one choice for the #1 slot. :)
Mr. Tokko reminds me of a Japanese (or Japanese interpretation of) Carl Denham from the 1933 King Kong.
Such a fantastic list
I hope the success of Minus One forever makes the "kaiju films don't need good human characters" perspective become antiquated in everyone's eyes.
Well, honorable mentions could possibly be Miki or that over the top Xilian leader
Very good list. But Megumi Odaka/ Miki Segusa definitely belongs somewhere on this list. As well as Joe Brody/Bryan Cranston. Who probably provided the best acting in the Series? Despite he was only in the movie for 36 minutes.
I'm surprised there were no women in this list and think Miki Saegusa, who had a partial character development arc as she appeared throughout the Heisei movies, could have replaced a few people here
Commenting on this after reading and listening to reviews for Godzilla vs Kong.
Human characters do matter. The best monster movies are ALWAYS the ones that have something to say and do something more with what they've been given.
Solid. I'd have found a place for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus's Kiriko Tsujimori. She's one of the only characters that stuck with me at all in my childhood viewings of the movies - she wasn't just the first person to have physical contact with Big G, she CLIMBED up on him!
Tbh my favorite character in Godzilla was the girl who drove and had a spiritual connection to Mechagodzilla in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
My problem is I do not remember any of the human characters names outside of a few, lol.
1. Serizawa from 1954
2. Dr Yamane from 1954
3. Steve Martin 1956 and 1985
4. Scientist from terror of mg
5. PM from 1984
6. Main Guy that gets blasted by G in 1991, Shinjo or whatever his name was.
7. Psychic girl from the heisei movies, only for being in all of them.
8. Main girl from GXMG
9. Bryan Cranston in G14
10. Main guy from Shin
This should be interesting, there has to be a mention of every pilot who dies because they flew to close to godzlillla
The G-Team for Godzilla military bad asses.
Admiral Tachibana, Colonel Gondo and Captain Gordon.
Here are my top 10 human characters in all Godzilla movies:
10. Mark Russell (Monsterverse)
9. Rando Yaguchi (Shin Godzilla)
8. Yashuaki Shindo (Godzilla vs King Ghidora)
7. Dr. Shiragami (Godzilla vs Biollante)
6. Xillian leader & Captain Gordon (Godzilla: Final Wars)
5. Azusa Gojo (Heisei Era)
4. Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Monsterverse)
3. Miki Seagusa (Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2)
2. Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Gojira)
Honorable mentions: Maddison Russell (Monsterverse), Jia (Godzilla vs Kong), Burnie (Godzilla vs Kong), Mr. Takata (King Kong vs Godzilla), Steve Martin (Godzilla: King of the Monsters 1956 & Godzilla 1985), Mr. Kamayama & Jiro Tarahata (Mothra vs Godzilla), Yuki (GMK)
1. Akane Yashiro (Godzilla against Mechagodzilla).